August 9, 2011 at 4:58 p.m.
Learning from the best
RHS basketball team gets pointers from Dick Bennett
Learning from the best
By Jonathan Bailey-
So one could understand how a "history lecture" by RHS head coach Derek Lemmens was in the cards before the team hit the court for a recent coaching session with the Wisconsin legend.
The just under two-hour practice took place July 23 at Lake Arrowhead Golf Course near Nekoosa. It happened on Servants Court, an outdoor basketball venue built for Bennett.
"I would have to think that there was a level of excitement and also some nervousness," Lemmens said of his players' opportunity to work with Bennett. "He's seen some great players, so all their flaws are going to stand out more than they normally would with any other coach. I could definitely see nerves when I watched them practice, which was good, because that means it meant something to them.
"I was kind of nervous because when I asked who Dick Bennett was, not many hands went up," he added. "So I had to educate them and tell them who he was ... The guy just knows basketball and he has rewritten the way Wisconsin plays basketball and I hope that sunk in and they really understood the level of coaching that they were going to get."
Bennett, who compiled a 316-227 record in 27-plus years of coaching, has been working with teenagers in the Wisconsin Rapids area since his retirement in 2006 as a way to give back to the game of basketball.
He is no stranger to the general area, coaching at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for a combined 19 years.
Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln boys' basketball head coach Dan Whitter, who is good friends with Bennett, told the former Wisconsin Badger coach that he knew of someone up in Rhinelander that would be interested in his coaching session.
Lemmens, who was an assistant coach under Whitter prior to accepting the head position at RHS in 2010, contacted Bennett to work out a date.
While the session ran from only 9 to 10:45 a.m., the team was able to take plenty out of the opportunity, especially since its style already mirrors Bennett's coaching philosophy.
"In terms of learning new things, they didn't really learn anything new," Lemmens said. "We do things the Bennett way ... They get to hear what we say coming from someone different, someone who's had success at one of the highest levels of basketball. He's saying and doing the same things we do and I think that's important.
"For everyone to hear that come out of a mouth other than my own, that's a pretty big deal I think," he added. "Hopefully the experience is something they can take with them forever."
Despite a short notice, the majority of the student-athletes that Lemmens believes will make up the varsity team this upcoming season were able to attend the coaching session.
While the session with Bennett reinforced much of what Lemmens has been coaching and provided an experience that the players may never forget, it was the message of "servanthood" that Lemmens hopes will make a lasting impact on the playing court this season.
"He was really preaching servanthood. That's kind of his theme," Lemmens said. "Not what can I do for myself, but what can I do for my team. I think that message with the type of team we have these next two years, I think we have some very talented players, and for them to hear that message and to put that team first ... is an important thing."
"We're going to have in the coming years multiple guys that can score 20 points in a game, but they have to be focused on what can I do for my team," he added. "The years of the highlight films and all that, players get lost in the great passes. He was saying it's not one great pass that wins games, it's a lot of good passes. That was a big thing."
In Lemmens' first year at the helm, the Hodags posted an overall record of 8-15, 6-6 in the Great Northern Conference. The team, however, will have a much different look this season as it graduated seven seniors, which included all five starters.
As of now, the Hodags are scheduled to kick off their season Dec. 2 at Medford. Their first home game at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium is slated for Dec. 6 against Northland Pines.
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